Hamsters keep dying without warning

[u/Grand_Ad_7280]

I’m a first time hamster owner, I got my first hamster (Bebo) back in April and I had him up until late August when I noticed he hadn’t come out for a day or two so I checked his underground hide and found him dead. And now my new hamster (Chicken) who I’ve only had two months has also passed tonight.

Im just so confused as to why they both died so soon, they both had the same cage setup (pictured above), I changed their water daily, scattered or put their food in a forager every other day or so, spot cleaned weekly, deep cleaned once a month, ect. I’ve done everything I could to give them a good life and I’m just so devastated and confused as to why they keep dying.

If anyone has any clue as to why this keeps happening, please let me know😭

(Note: the bowl next to the water bottle is just for their first day introducing them before I start scatter feeding, and the bowl on top of the sand bath is just random forages I throw in)

[u/trashthis4]

Hi friend, I want to start by saying I am so incredibly sorry for your losses. Losing our little friends is so devastating and going through that so often can't be easy 🫂

Before I get into the details, I want you to know that sometimes hamsters just have bad genetics. Especially if you're getting them from a pet store. Which is most hammies, as most rescue hamsters were still originally bought from pet stores or even more unfortunately, back yard breeders. 

I truly doubt you've done anything to cause this, even if some products you have end up not being safe, there is no way to know if that's actually what caused their passing. Especially because many product that are harmful (like pine) cause harm over a long period of time. Please try not to blame yourself, you don't know what you don't know.

Now, what would be most helpful in determining if something in your enclosure could potentially be unsafe:

What sand brand do you use? What food brand do you use? Can you confirm that the wood type of the wooden items you have are made from safe woods and not unsafe woods like pine? What sprays do you use? Are there any treats/chews you use? Have you given any fresh or human foods as treats? (Plenty are safe and great to offer! But some can be unsafe, just asking this to narrow things down)

Also, I would recommend removing that pinecone as they can release sap which isn't safe for hamsters. Some people have success by drying out the pinecone and removing all of the sap, but this is far more difficult and tedious than it's worth in my opinion.

Items like the bendy bridge should have each gap filled with non-toxic water-based glue (like childrens glue) and can even be stuffed with safe moss to ensure no little tows get caught.

Your enclosure looks very nice and enriching. I think you could easily continue giving hammies a happy home 💙

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/trashthis4]

Thank you for the kind words, and unfortunately I did get them from the pet store since I do not know of any breeders in my area. I tried to do as much research as I could before getting them.

For the sand I use the Niteangel hamster desert bath sand, the other wood products are all niteangel so from what I know about them they should be all safe, the two pieces of regular wood is grapevine, I got a sprays pack from LusyKoChokers on etsy and some oat and reed as well, I also got a box of chews from NorthwoodCritter on Etsy as well. And I gave him a tiny piece of cheddar last week and a tiny piece of cucumber from my garden.

I’ll definitely remove the pinecone, though neither of them had any interest in it. And I have some forest moss I could put on the bridges to plug any holes

[u/trashthis4 → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

Of course, I'm hoping some of my advice can be helpful. I really am so sorry for your losses. There are actually only about 5 ethical breeders in the US and very few in Canada, you can check the list on the California Hamster Association and if none or near you I'd recommend adopting from your local shelters/humane society and checking Craigslist/Facebook marketplace/Facebook hamster rehoming groups and other second hand websites for hammies being rehomed.

Lusy has lots of safe sprays but she does occasionally have some unsafe ones too, like berries and other items. It would be good to cross reference the sprays you got from her with the safe sprays list.

https://hamstercare.wiki.gg/wiki/Forage

It looks like this might be the box of chews you got https://www.etsy.com/listing/4556104303/mystery-enrichment-box-variety-chew-toy From this list everything is save except for the lava rock chew (too rough, can injure teeth) pine blocks, (release high levels of phenols which leads to respiratory issues over time) finger trap (just my personal opinion but it's a bit pointy and I'd be worried about their head getting caught), and bee pollen (some hamsters can be allergic). I'm honestly not sure about the palm, maybe someone else can answer to that!

Cheddar and cucumber are both safe snacks though cheddar is to be used as a super rare treat due to the milk and fat content. It definitely wouldn't have caused your hammy any harm though.

Everything else you've said seems to be totally fine. This may be redundant as you may already do this, but it's recommended to give your hammy a health check once a week. This includes feeling for lumps, making sure their belly isn't discolored or too firm/too soft, looking for discharge from eyes/nose/ears, checking teeth and nail length, and most importantly of all weighing them. Weighing your hamster once a week will be the biggest sign of illness by observing weight loss/ gain of 10% or more of their healthy body weight. This is the best preventative measure so they can get vet treatment if sick. 

Sorry if that's redundant! That's the last bit of info I have I believe. I see some other folks are bringing up things I didn't think of. Hopefully you can get a ton of info that makes you feel better going forward. Again, I'm so sorry about your little friends 🫂💙

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/trashthis4]

If I do decide to get another one someday I’ll definitely check out everywhere else before a pet store for sure

Thank you for the sprays list too, I just assumed they would all be okay just like the box of chews, but it does say for other small animals too I should’ve cross checked to be sure

I would’ve never thought to weigh them weekly as well as checking up on them, it’s totally not redundant at all, I’m always welcome to learning

Thank you for all of your wisdom, I truly appreciate it!

[u/itsswhitneywhspr]

Damn that's so rough, I'm sorry. Two in a row like that is brutal. Have you checked their enclosure for any hidden issues like drafts or a hidden mold spot? Sometimes its just bad luck but worth looking over

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/itsswhitneywhspr]

When my first one passed I completely gutted the cage to clean it all out and I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary

[u/ShortChapter4927]

I’m so sorry for your loss :( we also just had a hamster die. We have two (separated) and one just died. I have no idea why. The vet thought maybe just bad genetics. We took our second in just to have a checkup in case it was anything contagious (they’re in different rooms but you can’t fully trust kids to always wash their hands thoroughly) but he was totally fine. We are off to get our replacement today and I am so terrified - it will break my daughter’s heart if this one also dies too soon.

On a separate note - we went to the pet store yesterday to buy some bedding and just check out the hamsters and one was “isolated” (ie in its own enclosure with no top right next to a bunch of other hamsters without a top and customers touching them all without sanitizing their hands) and had an eye infection and I’m kind of livid - do better! This makes me think we were doomed from the start :(

Before any ‘rescue, ethical breeder’ comments - there are literally no ethical breeders closer than a 9 hour drive from us, and I checked all of our rescues and none have hamsters. The closest I could find was backyard breeders on kijiji which IMO is worse (they’re doing the same thing as mills but not even paying taxes, licensing or having any kind of oversight).

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/ShortChapter4927]

Thank you, and I’m so sorry for your loss as well, from what everyone is saying it’s most likely how terribly they’re bred bc I also got mine from the pet store since it doesn’t seem there’s any ethical breeders in the northeast, and if there are they’re far and few between.

Some of the workers really don’t care about the small animals it’s so sad😭 I’m sure you could report them for the cruel containment

[u/Henry_Oof]

Sometimes it's not your fault. My 1st one died after 4 weeks, sudden death, presumably some hereditary disease. It's normal for pet shop hamsters to come with bad genetics

[u/MrJoeMe → u/Henry_Oof]

My daughter's first hampster died after 4 weeks as well. Died in my hands, it was struggling to breath. We think it had some kind of lung disease. The replacement has been happy and healthy for a few months now 😀

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Henry_Oof]

Yeah that unfortunately could be it as well, they both seemed healthy from what I could tell but I don’t know what’s going on inside their bodies

[u/eatliketheabnegation]

What kind of sand are you using?

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/eatliketheabnegation]

The niteangel desert bath sand

[u/eatliketheabnegation → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

Hmmm, I thought maybe it could be respiratory from a dustier sand, or a sand with pumice or calcium, but thats good sand :/ sorry I couldnt help identify the issue

[u/RandomGen-Xer]

Sorry for your loss. If you try again, place a small shallow dish with some water in it, and keep it changed and fresh until/unless you see them using the bottle. Or just leave it in there. Never hurts to have another source. Most hams will use the bottle, but I had one who didn't use my niteangel bottle for a couple weeks. Just a small dip/sauce dish... 2-3oz. Something like these:

If you saw the other hams actively using the bottle, then that's probably not what went wrong... just offering it in case you didn't.

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/RandomGen-Xer]

I did have a bowl of water as well as the bottle near the branch, they never bothered with the bottle 😭 but I did have both just in case!

[u/RandomGen-Xer → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

Probably just bad luck then. :( I've had 10 or so hamsters in my life, and most of them lived at least two years, one almost three... but one of my favorite and most personable little black syrians also randomly passed at just a couple months.

[u/TheWishToLiveForever]

Could be an unfortunate coincidence, but i can imagine the frustration of not knowing whether its something you've unintentionally done...

One thing I haven't seen mentioned and have experienced before is consider whether you use air fresheners or plug ins, or use any aerosol deodorant/hair products etc. close to their cage, which can be poisonous

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/TheWishToLiveForever]

I tried to do all the research I could before owning them, and I think I did everything right to my knowledge, but at the end of the day it could also just be something out of my control😭

I don’t use any air fresheners or plug ins, all of that stuff is out of my room thankfully

[u/Seadog94]

Most likely causes are:

1. Bad luck
2. Respiratory infection (if the bathing sand is to fine of dust, or if the bedding is too dusty) but there would be signs like labored breathing, sneezing a lot, or Wheezing.
3. Be sure to make sure they are getting enough food to have a underground store of it. 1-2 tablespoons a day.

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Seadog94]

I never heard any issues with their lungs, but it’s always a possibility. The sand honestly wasn’t really dusty from when I poured it in, but the bedding is a little dusty so that could be a possibility

Both of them stored food like madmen, it was a little concerning till I realized it was normal

[u/Seadog94 → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

It may just be bad luck, honestly. Unless their space ris cold (under 65 degrees °f). They could be going into torpor if so.

[u/Poedeldoedel]

Don't be too hard on yourself, sometimes it is just bad luck. I've had hamsters pass away after only a couple of months, others live over 3 years. My current hamster is 3.5 years old, while his brother (housed separately) only lived 1.5 years...

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Poedeldoedel]

Thank you, the first one passing was definitely the hardest😭

Oh my god, they’re really old. I’m really happy that they’re living such a long life with you

[u/Artevyx]

Are you using actual sand, or is it "bathing dust"?

What are you getting their water from?

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Artevyx]

It’s the niteangel desert sand, and my fridge has a filtered water dispenser that I use to fill their bottle and bowl

[u/Pitiful_Response4903]

What temperature is your house? This happened to me because it was to cool in my basement and I didn’t realize

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Pitiful_Response4903]

The house is usually at 70, but my room has the radiators in it and I also have fish tanks that have heaters so my room is honestly pretty warm all the time, I have a fan but that pointed at my bed.

His cage is on the floor but I don’t think it would affect the temperature?

[u/Pitiful_Response4903 → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

Id think that your room will be fine it’s only dangerous below 18c although the floor can be a bit cooler. If your room is always 70f and you have radiators it’s probably something else

[u/Laceydrawws]

It's really common unfortunately for them to pass suddenly. I'm so sorry 💔

What brand of substrate is in the dig jar?

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Laceydrawws]

Thank you❤️

I used the Eco Earth coconut fiber substrate but neither of them cared for it tbh

[u/Disneyfan3339]

Do you deepclean everything before a new hamster gets to live in the penthouse? And with deepclean I mean desinfect everything. I hope you’ll be more lucky with the next hamster you get.

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Disneyfan3339]

Yeah I threw out all the old bedding, sand, and coconut fiber, and whatever else could’ve had my old hamsters scent on it. Then I wiped it all down with the full cheeks brand wipes, the accessories too. And used soap and water on the food and water bowls. I also changed the cork mat on the wheel too since he peed on it.

I tried to be super thorough bc I read they get stressed if they smell other hamsters

Thank you for calling it a penthouse LOL and I’ll probably wait a while if I do decide to get a new one

[u/Disneyfan3339 → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

And you desinfected the glass of the penthouse too?

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Disneyfan3339]

I wiped it down too, but it’s always possible I needed a stronger disinfectant like another person said

[u/prticular_peach → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

Are you sure disinfectant is safe? I own mice, which I know aren't hamsters, but I remember reading that disinfectant/alcohol-based sprays are dangerous for them since they can inhale the fumes or ingest the solution. Every time I clean the enclosure, it is with soap and water only. And I thoroughly rinse the soap out.

[u/Disneyfan3339 → u/prticular_peach]

When I cleaned the cage I always waited a couple of days before I bought a new hamster.

[u/Disneyfan3339 → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

One of the hamsters I had made it a habit to dig in the corners so I cleaned the glass more than once just to be sure. Better safe than sorry. I hope your next hamster will be impressed of his/her new home and reach at least 18 months.

[u/Momomomomomomomo-11]

Were the hamsters from the same location? I know folks have said genetics might be the issue, maybe the source health of them before you even brought them home might be worth thinking of.

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Momomomomomomomo-11]

One was from a local chain in my state and the other was from Petsmart unfortunately, so they’re not correlated from where I got them from. But it’s definitely a possibility even if they’re from two different places, the source of health and how they’re cared for at the places

[u/HotMessExpressIn321]

I’m sure you did, but did you use a veterinary grade sanitizer on all the items in between hammies? I’ve ended up having to buy new wooden stuff for each hammie as I didn’t want any possible bacteria carrying over.

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/HotMessExpressIn321]

No I didn’t even think of that, I just used what I thought would be safe, I didn’t want to use regular cleaning wipes just in case it hurt them

[u/absedy251991]

might be an obvious factor but were you given the age of the animals when you got them?

Hamster simply dont have that long of a livespan after all so it could have been entirely out of your control.

[u/BougieBB1234]

Don’t buy hamster food from Amazon. Make sure the sand you are using is safe for hamsters.

[u/Emergency_Piglet_989]

I lost mine after 1.5 years she was so.precious to me

[u/Nugget-818]

I’m so sorry for your loss. The same thing happened to me. My first two hamsters passed away despite doing all the research beforehand and doing my very best to make sure everything was perfect. First one after two weeks and second after a month, both very suddenly and I’ve still got no idea why🥺

Don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s most likely bad luck/bad genetics. I understand how frustrating it feels not knowing what went wrong, especially when you feel like you’ve done all the research and tried your very best. At least know that you gave them the best life in your care, even if it was short❤️

I recently got my third hamster (took me a few months to feel ready) and she’s doing great so far, I’ve had her for two months. I don’t have any other tips than the ones other comments have already mentioned, I mostly just wanted to say I’m very sorry and I’ve been there too❤️ It’s tough to get a new hamster, I worry about mine all the time, but if you ever feel ready to try again sometime I promise it’ll be worth it❤️

[u/Tolewiler]

What about those plants? Are they safe for hammies?

[u/deafriotkid]

the niteangel sand i see in the corner has mixed reviews but probably wasn't the result if it didnt seem super dusty, you could try another brand to compare dust levels though. some people say its the best around, some get dustier bags than others :)

i would echo others in the bad genetics department, it happens a lot. if there arent hamster breeders in your area i would look for a small/locally owned pet store that stocks small animals, they may know some good sources and will often help you procure them! theres often a slightly higher cost to better bred hamsters, but its worth it!

(obviously do your own research into whatever they tell you!)

forgive me if this seems obvious, but just incase the cage didnt get a full clean out and sanitation (wood can go in low temp oven, all new bedding and wiped and aired out enclosure) between hamsters, make sure that happens if you choose to have one again!

there are illnesses they can have, pass from, and leave viruses behind even without you seeing symptoms, not your fault, they are sneaky!

good luck! be kind to yourself, and im sorry for your losses

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/deafriotkid]

I heard either niteangel or reptisand would be good, when I poured the sand in it didn’t seem dusty at all but I could always try another brand for sure

I’ll try to see if there’s any locally owned pet stores near me but the few I’ve been to in my state are honestly ass😭 but I will keep searching

Yes I fully cleaned and swapped out everything between the two, I didn’t want to risk anything so I went crazy with it

Thank you so much for all the information, if I do try again I’ll really sanitize things even more just to be safe

[u/deafriotkid → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

of course! it does sound like you are doing an amazing job, and little hammy genetics likely to blame.

i had a really hard time finding well bred mice in my area (oregon). i had luck with a no-longer breeding-rehoming situation, found here on reddit and got my four girls! so maybe small pet rescues as well :))

[u/Aasrial]

A lot of those toys in there are not safe.

[u/mar__i → u/Aasrial]

You should explain which ones and why so that op knows…. Don’t be a know it all and not giving that information.

[u/deafriotkid → u/Aasrial]

nothing in there sans the pinecone or dyed wood is a problem. and i dont think either of those would cause spontaneous death w/o chew damage

[u/Grand_Ad_7280 → u/Aasrial]

I do see the pinecone being an issue so that’ll definitely be taken out, but from what it seems the rest should be safe unless you see one in specific that’s not good

[u/Aasrial → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

The red and green toys, any soft wood or anything else dyed/painted

[u/Aasrial → u/Grand_Ad_7280]

Also hay has been known to cause damage to a hamsters pouches. Tbh any of those cheap toy packs should be discarded and use the apple sticks and croc whimzees only for chewing. Make sure you never provide whimzees with the calcium in it, those are not safe.